I first met Shelby’s person, Kelley, last year when I was preparing to present to Burnaby City Council to request they implement a bylaw that would ban the retail sale of cats, dogs and rabbits. Kelley allowed me to share Shelby’s story in hopes that her story would help to end the suffering of so many dogs like her.

Shelby was purchased at Pet Habitat in Brentwood Mall and like many dogs that come from pet stores, she would suffer from a host of serious health issues. At the time of my presentation (July 2012), Kelley had spent over $32,000 to treat, amongst other ailments, elbow dysplasia, a vaginectomy to treat chronic bladder infections and a triple pelvic osteotomy.

When Kelly contacted me last month, we were still waiting for Burnaby City staff to present recommendations before council for changes to their 20 year old animal control bylaws. Shelby had recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour and her prognosis was not good.

Both her and I were hoping that a ban would be put in place before Shelby passed. That did not happen.
Shelby passed away on June 24th and our hearts are broken for her and all the puppies and their parents who are suffering in puppy mills.